The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the Malay language. The words listed below are not the most common Malay words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
| English | Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) |
| I | aku ku saya sahaya hamba beta (royal term) |
| you (singular) | engkau kamu awak anda dikau (poetic) saudara m / saudari f |
| he | dia / ia nya |
| we | kita (inclusive) kami (exclusive) |
| you (plural) | kamu kalian engkau anda saudara-saudari n / saudara m / saudari f |
| they | mereka dia orang (informal) |
| this | ini |
| that | itu |
| here | sini |
| there | situ sana |
| who | siapa |
| what | apa |
| where | mana |
| when | bila apabila kapan |
| how | bagaimana macam mana |
| not | tidak bukan |
| all | semua segala |
| many | banyak |
| some | beberapa |
| few | sedikit |
| other | lain |
| one | satu esa |
| two | dua |
| three | tiga telu |
| four | empat |
| five | lima |
| big | besar raya |
| long | panjang |
| wide | lebar |
| thick | tebal |
| heavy | berat |
| small | kecil |
| short | pendek |
| narrow | sempit |
| thin | nipis / tipis |
| woman | perempuan |
| man (adult male) | lelaki laki-laki |
| man (human being) | orang |
| child | anak (offspring) kanak-kanak (sub-adult) |
| wife | isteri |
| husband | suami |
| mother | ibu ibunda (formal) emak induk ina |
| father | bapa ayahanda (formal) ayah rama |
| animal | binatang haiwan |
| fish | ikan |
| bird | burung |
| dog | anjing asu kuyuk |
| louse | kutu |
| snake | ular |
| worm | cacing |
| tree | pokok pohon |
| forest | hutan rimba |
| stick | batang |
| fruit | buah |
| seed | benih biji |
| leaf | daun |
| root | akar |
| bark (of a tree) | kulit kayu |
| flower | bunga |
| grass | rumput |
| rope | tali |
| skin | kulit |
| meat | daging |
| blood | darah |
| bone | tulang |
| fat (noun) | lemak |
| egg | telur |
| horn | tanduk |
| tail | ekor |
| feather | bulu |
| hair | rambut (head-hair) bulu (body-hair) |
| head | kepala hulu |
| ear | telinga |
| eye | mata |
| nose | hidung |
| mouth | mulut |
| tooth | gigi |
| tongue (organ) | lidah |
| fingernail | kuku |
| foot | kaki |
| leg | kaki |
| knee | lutut tuhut (Brunei) |
| hand | tangan |
| wing | sayap kepak |
| belly | perut |
| guts | usus |
| neck | leher |
| back | punggung belakang |
| breast | payudara titik |
| heart | jantung |
| liver | hati |
| to drink | minum |
| to eat | makan |
| to bite | gigit |
| to suck | hisap |
| to spit | ludah |
| to vomit | muntah |
| to blow | tiup / meniup |
| to breathe | nafas hirup |
| to laugh | ketawa |
| to see | lihat tengok |
| to hear | dengar |
| to know | tahu |
| to think | fikir |
| to smell | bau cium hidu |
| to fear | takut |
| to sleep | tidur |
| to live | hidup |
| to die | mati meninggal (dunia) (euphemism "pass away") mangkat (royal term) |
| to kill | bunuh |
| to fight | lawan |
| to hunt | buru |
| to hit | pukul |
| to cut | potong |
| to split | belah |
| to stab | tikam |
| to scratch | garu |
| to dig | gali korek |
| to swim | renang |
| to fly | terbang |
| to walk | jalan |
| to come | datang |
| to lie (as in a bed) | baring |
| to sit | duduk |
| to stand | diri |
| to turn (intransitive) | belok pusing putar |
| to fall | jatuh |
| to give | beri bagi |
| to hold | pegang |
| to squeeze | perah |
| to rub | gosok |
| to wash | cuci |
| to wipe | lap |
| to pull | tarik |
| to push | tolak |
| to throw | baling campak lempar lontar |
| to tie | ikat |
| to sew | jahit |
| to count | kira hitung bilang |
| to say | kata cakap ucap tutur |
| to sing | nyanyi |
| to play | main |
| to float | apung |
| to flow | alur / alir / salur / salir |
| to freeze | beku |
| to swell | bengkak |
| sun | matahari |
| moon | bulan cendera |
| star | bintang |
| water | air |
| rain | hujan |
| river | sungai batang |
| lake | tasik danau |
| sea | laut |
| salt | garam |
| stone | batu |
| sand | pasir |
| dust | habuk debu |
| earth | tanah (soil) bumi (world) |
| cloud | awan |
| fog | kabus |
| sky | langit |
| wind | angin |
| snow | salji thalji |
| ice | air batu air beku ais |
| smoke | asap |
| fire | api |
| ash | abu |
| to burn | bakar |
| road | jalan |
| mountain | gunung |
| red | merah |
| green | hijau |
| yellow | kuning |
| white | putih |
| black | hitam |
| night | malam |
| day | siang (daytime) hari (24 hours) |
| year | tahun |
| warm | panas hangat |
| cold | sejuk |
| full | penuh |
| new | baharu |
| old | lama tua (life-age) |
| good | baik bagus |
| bad | buruk teruk |
| rotten | busuk |
| dirty | kotor kumuh |
| straight | lurus |
| round | bulat |
| sharp (as a knife) | tajam |
| dull (as a knife) | tumpul |
| smooth | licin |
| wet | basah |
| dry | kering |
| correct | betul |
| near | dekat hampir |
| far | jauh |
| right | kanan |